


Night Falls

by fearjunkie



Category: Dresden Files, Persona 3, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dresden Files Setting, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Crossover, Gen, Setting change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 18:34:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14754095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fearjunkie/pseuds/fearjunkie
Summary: Makoto Yuki is a wizard's apprentice transfering to Iwatodai to lay low as the war between the White Council and the Red Court vampires hits fever pitch. However, he finds himself fighting against a strange magical phenomenon called the 'Dark Hour', which causes the entire city to be engulfed by the Nevernever at midnight. Joining forces with a group of assorted supernatural talents, Makoto must find a way to stop the Dark Hour before the whole world is threatened by it. (Takes place parallel to Turn Coat and Changes)





	1. Chapter 1

When you ride a train during the daytime, you spend your time trying to enjoy it. You take in the sights, you relax, maybe read a book.

 

When you ride a train at night, you desperately cling to any fleeting moment of sleep you can get.

 

That's what I was doing as the train clacked and hummed over the tracks. Yet as I took those fleeting moments of sleep, I dreamed of a butterfly.

 

“ _Time never waits,”_ it seemed to say. _“_ _You, who wish to safeguard the future, however limited it may be...You will be given one year; go forth without falter, with your heart as your guide...”_

 

Weird dream- but then again, I've had weirder ones. My uneasy sleep was cut short by the conductor's voice on the intercom, telling the passengers that the train was stopping at Iwatodai Station. I shook my head like a wet dog and stood up,grabbing my rolling luggage and golf bag.

 

My name is Makoto Yuki. I'm seventeen, I'm a Capricorn, and I am so goddamn tired right now.

The train slowed down until finally coming to a stop. There was a 'fwoosh' as the doors all slid open. I stifled a yawn as I got off the train. I could see the clock on the station wall ticking away the seconds until midnight-

 

And then the whole world went dark. Dark green, to be specific.

 

The lights went out and my music player stopped working without so much as a warning. Where commuters once stood were ominous coffins standing upright, like something out of an old vampire movie. To put a cherry on top of this nightmarish scene, the waxing moon seemed much bigger and more yellow than it was supposed to.

 

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and some primal lizard brain instinct was screaming out 'run, run, run'. However, I had somewhere to be, and some creepy coffins weren't going to stop me.

“Fear is the mind-killer.” I quoted as I strode out of the station- but I was clutching the strap of the golf bag a little tighter than I needed to.

 

 

Fortunately, it was a pretty short walk from the train station to the dorm. I was going to finish my high school years at Gekkoukan High School, living at the dorms in the meantime. I approached the door and reached for the knob, but I briefly hesitated with apprehension- it was totally possible that the door would be locked. After all, I was late getting here. Though, a guy jumping in front of the train ahead of yours is bound to cause delays. Poor guy.

 

However, the doorknob turned just fine and I walked in with no problems. The lights were still on here, which was surprising. I was taking my shoes off when I heard a young boy's voice behind me. “You're late. I've been waiting a long time for you.” he said, and I felt like my heart was trying to escape through my mouth. That kid was definitely pinging my strangeness radar- I was almost a hundred percent certain he wasn't there when I walked in.

 

The 'he' in question was standing behind a counter. He seemed to be about ten years old. He had short, wavy black hair, black-and-white striped pajamas, and eyes that were an almost unnaturally vibrant shade of blue. In his hands, he held a red folder. “Now, if you want to proceed, just sign your name here.”

I hesitated. Nothing good ever came out of strangers asking for your signature.

 

“It's a contract.” explained the boy. “Don't worry- all it says is that you'll accept full responsibility for your actions...you know, the usual stuff.”

 

I sighed and quickly scrawled my name out. The boy closed the folder and took it back with a smile. “No one can escape time,” he said cryptically as he hugged the folder to his chest like it was a stuffed animal. “It delivers us all to the same end...”

 

The boy brought the folder up to his face so it was half-covered as he kept talking. “You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes.”

 

He turned the folder sideways and it vanished. God's bones, this was getting way too weird for me. The lights went out and darkness seemed to fill the room like water filling a basin as the boy reached out his hand right before the darkness swallowed it up.

 

“And so it begins....” he said before disappearing in the dark.

 

Well, that was freaky.

 

The room was back to the shade of dark green the rest of the city seemed to take on. I stood there for a moment, trying to process what the hell just happened. However, someone shouted 'Who's there?', derailing my train of thought.

 

I turned my head to see a brunette girl in a pink cardigan and a short black skirt standing across the room, staring at me wide-eyed. However, what got my attention was what was on her hip- a holster for what seemed to be a pistol.

 

Goddammit, I just can't catch a break today.

 

The girl began panting, sounding freaked out. I could see a trembling hand reaching for the holstered gun. My hand slowly crept towards the zipper of my golf bag. She went for the pistol, and I had the zipper half-undone when another voice called out: “Takeba, wait!”

 

The brunette froze up, then turned to look behind her. After a momentary pause that seemed to last eons, the lights came back on. My music player also turned back on. The brunette sighed in relief as another girl walked downstairs. She looked like the kind of person you'd see on the covers of high-fashion magazines: long, dark red hair straightened down her face and curled down her back. She wore a white ruffled blouse, a long black skirt, and thigh-high boots. There was an aura of calm, collected authority that seemed to radiate off of her. “I didn't expect you to arrive so late,” she said. “My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students living in this dorm.”

 

“Who's he?” asked the brunette. Mitsuru Kirijo looked towards her. “He's a transfer student, named Makoto Yuki. It was a last minute decision to assign him here. He'll eventually be moved to a room in the boys' dorm.”

 

I blinked in surprise. This was the girl's dorm? I was under the impression it was co-ed. This felt like the set up of an mediocre harem manga. The brunette looked pensive about this situation. “Is it okay for him to be here?” she asked. Mitsuru gave her a reassuring look. “I guess we'll see...” she said.

Mitsuru looked back to me, gesturing to the brunette. “This is Yukari Takeba. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you.

 

“...hey.” Yukari said after an awkward pause. I had a lot of questions, but some there are some questions that just aren't asked in polite society. 'Why do you have a gun?' was one. 'Why did everyone turn into coffins' was another. So I just said “Hello”.

 

“It's getting late, so you should get some rest.” said Mitsuru. I was getting the notion that Mitsuru was the 'dorm hall mother' of the place. “Your room's on the second floor, at the end of the hall. Your things should already be there.” she continued.

 

Yeah, the stuff I sent ahead of time- the stuff that wouldn't raise any eyebrows. Yukari offered to show me the way, and I accepted. For a school dorm, it was a pretty nice place- it even had vending machines.

“This is it,” Yukari said as we walked up to the door to my room. “Pretty easy to remember, huh? Since it's at the end of the hall.”

She chuckled. “Word of warning: don't lose your key or you'll **never** hear the end of it. So, any questions?”

“What's with that kid in the lobby?” I asked. Yukari stared at me like I'd just grown a second head. “What kid?” she asked, sounding totally confused.

 

Oh, so this is how things were going to be. Way to ruin my first impression, creepy phantom child. Yukari looked at me with concern. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Fire away.” I answered.

Yukari gave me an awkward look. “On the way here from the station, was everything...okay?”

Wow, that was a loaded question. I didn't know how much they knew about what the hell happened when I got off the train, but I had no idea how to respond to her question. My best bet was to just play it safe.

“What do you mean?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

“You know what I-”

Yukari abruptly stopped mid-sentence. “-Never mind. It seems like you're alright. Well, I'd better get going.”

She started to walk away, but stopped mid-stride. “Uh...I'm sure you have other questions, but let's save them for later, okay?”

I nodded. “Duly noted.” I said curtly. She smiled. “Good night, Yuki-san.”

 

She walked away, taking the stairs leading up to the third floor. I went into my room, stashing my luggage and golf bag under the bed before finally flopping facedown on top of it. Hello sleep, we have some catching up to do.

 


	2. Chapter 2

My blissful sleep was ended by someone knocking on my door. Here's hoping it wasn't a raven.

“It's me, Yukari!” Yup, definitely not a raven. “Are you awake?”

“No, I'm not.” I replied. Yukari opened the door and stepped in. It's a good thing I'm not the type to sleep in the buff, because this would have been extremely awkward. “Good morning!” she said cheerfully. “Did you sleep okay?”

I shrugged noncommittally. “Eh, it was alright.” I said.

 

We walked to the train that connected the city to the artificial island that Gekkoukan was built on. The school itself was fairly impressive- a large white building with an ornately paved walkway lined with cherry trees that led to the main entrance. We walked into the front, and Yukari stopped by the student shoe lockers. “You okay from here?” asked Yukari. “You should go see your homeroom teacher first. Any questions?”

“What class are you in?” I asked.

Yukari shrugged. “I dunno...I haven't seen the classroom assignments yet.” she said. A look of anxiety crossed her face. “Hey, about last night...don't tell anyone what you saw, okay?”

I nodded. So she was aware of the coffins- I had been 99% sure originally, but it's always that 1% that makes you doubt yourself.

“See ya later.” Yukari said before walking away. I bit my lip, deep in thought. I was certain that what happened last night wasn't some hallucination. The uneasy feeling it had given hadn't completely gone away, instead taking up a tiny corner of my mind where it continued to bother me. However, this wasn't the time to be worrying about green skies and people turning into coffins.

 

I took a look around until I spotted a bulletin board that had a list of students and their homerooms. I took a long look through it, but didn't find my name anywhere. Go figure.

 

I kept my hands in my pocket as I trudged to the Faculty Office. I made a point to keep my head down, eyes low- I didn't feel comfortable with accidentally making eye contact with strangers.  
  


When I found the faculty office, I was met by a woman with brown hair and a tan suit, reading over documents attached to a clipboard. She looked up when the door closed behind me.

 

“Can I help you?” she asked. I nodded. “My name's Makoto Yuki.” I explained. “I didn't see my name on the homeroom chart and I was hoping you knew where I needed to go.”

“Makoto Yuki...” she muttered under her breath as she began flipping through documents. “Eleventh grade, correct?” She stopped about halfway though the bundle of papers. “Ah, there you are. Wow, you've lived in a lot of different places.” she said, reading my file. “Let's see...in 1999...that was what, ten years ago?”

 

Oh great. I knew what was coming, and I always hated this part when I transferred to a new school. I just wanted to have a normal school life.

 

“Your parents-”

 

She gasped, then gave me a look of pity. “I'm so sorry...” she said. “I've been so busy, I didn't have time to read this beforehand.” Well, at least she didn't feel the need to offer a shoulder to cry on. I was only seven years old when it happened. I had my time to mourn, and I've moved on. I just wish people would stop bringing it up, thinking it'll help me somehow.

“I'm Ms. Toriumi,” she said, trying to brush off what had just happened. “I teach Composition. Welcome to our school. You'll be in 2-F for homeroom; that's my class. But first, we need to go to the auditorium. The Welcoming Ceremony will be starting soon. Follow me.”

 

I was led to the auditorium and took an empty seat near one of the aisles- I hated being stuck in the middle seat for assemblies. Also, I hated school assemblies as a whole, because they did nothing but waste everyone's time. I didn't pay attention to the speech the Principal gave, instead opting to put on my headphones and listen to some music. I hit pause when I felt someone tap on my shoulder. Craning my head back, I saw another student looking at me intently. I averted my gaze from his eyes, focusing on the lobe of his right ear- that way, I at least looked like I was paying attention to him.

“You came to school with Yukari this morning, right?” asked the student. “I saw you two walking together...hey, I got a question: do you know if she's got a boyfriend?”

I rolled my eyes. “Dude, I don't know.” I replied. The student frowned slightly, unsatisfied with my answer. “I see...so, how well do you know her?”

I was on the verge of telling him to mind his own damn business when a cranky-sounding teacher griped about students from Toriumi's class talking, giving me an excuse to not respond.

 

After the assembly, it was finally time for class- and by that, I mean going over each course syllabus. When class let out for the day, I got up- only to run into a student. He stood out from the others- maybe it was how tall and wiry he looked, or the fact that he seemed to be the only student around wearing a baseball cap and sporting a goatee. “'Sup, dude?” greeted the student. He had the kind of enthusiasm that slowly grated on your nerves. “How's it going?” he asked.

“...Who are you?” I asked bluntly. The guy looked surprised. “Me? I'm Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya. I transferred here when I was in eighth grade, so I know how it feels to be the new kid. So I just wanted to say 'hey'...see what a nice guy I am?”

 

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. _A real paragon of selflessness, you are._ I thought sarcastically...thought it was a little too snippy to say that out loud. Junpei looked behind him and grinned. “Hey, there's Yuka-tan!” he cheered. I peered around him to see Yukari walking up to me. “I didn't think we'd be in the same class again.” Junpei said to Yukari. Yukari shook her head and sighed. “At it again, huh?” she asked Junpei. “I swear, you'll talk to anyone if they'll listen. Did you ever think you're bothering someone?”

Junpei looked taken aback. “What?!” he said defensively. “I was just bein' friendly!”

Yukari rolled her eyes. “If you say so...” she said bemusedly. Junpei looked from her to me, then back to her, then back to me. “Hey, I heard you two came to school together this morning.” said Junpei. “What's up with up with that? C'mon, gimme the dirt!”

God's bones, did everyone at this school assume that Yukari and I were an item. Yukari looked pretty shocked by Junpei's inquiring. “What are you talking about?! We live in the same dorm! There's NOTHING going on.” she said. With a huff, she turned to look at me. “Hey, you didn't say anything to anyone about...you know what, did you?”

 

The battle against the urge to facepalm was intense, but I managed to suppress it. Junpei heard Yukari's choice of phrasing and his eyes went wide. However, Yukari just kept talking. “Seriously, don't say anything about last night!”

 

Junpei's jaw dropped so low I thought he'd need a screwjack to get it back in place. “L-Last night?” he spluttered. It seemed like Yukari's brain finally caught up with her mouth, as she went red in the face. “Wait a minute!” blurted the blushing brunette. “Don't get the wrong idea, I just met him yesterday, and there's NOTHING between us!”

 

I closed my eyes with a sigh of exasperation and pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on. I just wanted a quiet school life- was that so much to ask for?

 

Yukari shook her head. “I gotta go, the archery team needs me to do something...”

She shot my glare. “You better not go starting any more rumors!” she said before walking off. How the hell was this my fault? She was the one talking about the Night of A Thousand Coffins like we were trying to hide evidence of the horizontal mambo.

 

Junpei shrugged. “Whatever...it's not like people take rumors seriously, anyway.” He gave me a wide grin. “But hey, it's your first day and already people are talking about you!”

“You say that like it's a good thing.” I grumbled. Junpei gave me one of those overly-friendly shoulder punches. It actually stung a bit. “Believe it or not, Yuka-tan's pretty popular.” said Junpei. “You da man! Man, I can tell this is gonna be a great year!”

 

 

I got back to the dorm to find Mitsuru reading on the couch in the dorm lounge. There was also a guy about a year older than me pulling a coat from off the rack, seeming like he was getting ready to leave. He was tall, but unlike Junpei, his build was more athletic. He had short, grayish-white hair and wore a red vest over a white long-sleeved shirt. There was a calm, confident vibe that seemed to surround him. “Oh, hey,” said the new face. “You must be Makoto. I'm Akihiko Sanada. I'm in Mitsuru-san's grade.”

“Nice to meet you, Sanada-senpai.” I said. “Do you live here, too?” He nodded. “Yeah, but I was out the night you arrived.” he said. “Sorry I couldn't greet you sooner.”

I shrugged. “No big deal.” I said. I headed up the stairs to my room to get some studying done.

 

The second day of class was pretty boring. I mean, I pay attention in class, but sitting through Toriumi's diatribe on how Utsubo Kubota's writing was superior to that of Zenzou Kasai was textbook tedium. Though, I did manage to save Junpei from embarassment when Toriumi grilled him on her rant to see if he'd been paying attention. I took a walk around the city after class, getting used to navigating Iwatodai City's streets. It was evening when I got back to the dorm. I walked in to see Yukari discussing something with an older man in a tan suit. He had shoulder length hair the color of sand and a pair of glasses. They both stood up when they realized I had walked in.

“Good evening,” said the man. “My name is Shuji Ikutsuki, and I'm the Chairman of the Board.” He chuckled. “'Ikutsuki'...hard to say, isn't it?”

“Not really.” I said bluntly. Makoto Yuki: master of conversation.

“Please, have a seat.” requested Ikutsuki. I obliged, taking a seat by the coffee table.”I apologize for the confusion regarding your accommodations. However, it may take a while before you receive the proper room assignment. Is there anything you'd like to ask?”

 

I thought about it for a moment. If there was ever a time to ask about the coffins, it was now. “The other night, I saw...” I began. Yukari and Ikutsuki both lurched like someone had jabbed them with a thumbtack.

 

“You saw something strange?” asked Ikutsuki. “Like what?” Meanwhile, Yukari was giving me an intense side-eye glare. Ikutsuki shrugged. “You were probably just tired,” he said dismissively. “I wouldn't worry about it.” Ikutsuki was definitely in on it- whatever 'it' was. However, I had the feeling I shouldn't push the subject right now. “If you say so.” I said.

 

 

The next day, I was subjected to the worst form of torture imaginable: sitting through hours of teachers going on and on about how 'kids these days' didn't 'appreciate classic literature'. Gag me with a spork, were all the teacher here this unbearable? Even I couldn't stand it, dozing off in the middle of the lecture, and I was still drowsy by the time school let out. I had a quick dinner at the dorm and turned in early after studying what I missed in class.

 

That's when everything went to hell in a handbasket.

 

I was awoken by the sound of frantic pounding at my door. “WAKE UP!” screamed Yukari. She sounded afraid- 'fearing for my life' afraid. This did not bode well. I got out of bed just as Yukari barged in. She looked scared and out of breath. Clutched tight in her arms was some object wrapped in cloth. “I don't have time to explain.” she said frantically. “We have to get out of here, now!”

 

I didn't feel inclined to question her. Something about the situation screamed 'grave peril'. I caught a glimpse through my window at a green sky with a full yellow moon. “Alright, let me grab something real quick.” I said, reaching under my bed to pull out the golf bag. I slung it over my shoulder. Yukari looked like she was going to question it before she remembered time was of the essence. Just then, there was a loud banging sound. The whole building trembled violently. Looks like I was on the money about this being a dangerous situation. I really hate it when I'm right about this kind of stuff.

 

“Hurry, downstairs!” directed Yukari. “We'll leave through the back door!”

I was about to leave when Yukari stopped. “Wait!”

She held the cloth-covered item out for me. “Take this...just in case.” she said. I took the object and threw the cloth aside. In the dim light, I saw the item was a steel short sword.

 

When a girl you only met two days ago wakes you up in the middle of the night in a violently shaking building to give you a sword, you know things are about to get real ugly.

“Let's go!” said Yukari.

 

We ran down the stairs into the lobby and turned down the hall that led out back. Yukari let out a breath. “Alright, we should be safe now-”

 

A rapid beeping cut her off. Yukari stopped talking and put a hand to her ear. “Y-Yes, I hear you.” she said out of the blue. Was she wearing an earpiece? Whatever the person on the other end said wasn't good, because Yukari went pale as a ghost and she yelled out a terrified “What?!”

 

There was a loud 'wham' as something slammed against the back door. After a second, there was another 'wham'. Whatever was on the other side was trying to beat down the door. “Let's pull back!” Yukari said anxiously.

 

The building continued to shake as we charged up the steps until we reached the roof access. “Alright, we should be safe here...” Yukari said as we got on the roof. The building gave another violent shake, and a face peered over the edge of the roof on the side of the building opposite to the roof access. The face looked more like a mask- it was pale blue and expressionless. It looked around the area before the face's owner pulled itself up...with dozens of black, oily tentacles.

 

Oh, shit.

 

Its tentacles undulated (eurgh) and suddenly sprouted bony blades at the tips as it came crawling towards us.

 

Oh, double shit.

Yukari reached to the holster on her hip and drew her pistol. “That monster...it's what we call a Shadow.” she said. Yukari aimed her gun at the monster- the Shadow- and opened fire. Shot after shot rang out, but the thing kept advancing. One of the tentacles without a blade whipped out and sideswiped Yukari, nearly knocking her off the building. I dropped the sword and reached into my golf bag. So much for a normal school life.

 

I pulled two things out from the bag. The first was an amulet made of silver, flat and roughly twice the size of an American quarter. The face of the amulet was engraved with an intricate mandala design with a hole in the center. Nestled in the hole was a smooth piece of amber.

 

The second was a four foot long staff made of zelkova wood. It was hand-carved and polished, and along the length of the staff were about a dozen different engraved runes. Yukari stared at me as I put the amulet around my neck and brandished the staff. I focused on the Shadow and shouted out at the top of my lungs.

“ _ **Pyrkagia!”**_

 

A jet of flame erupted from the staff, engulfing the approaching Shadow. It whipped its tendrils in agony as it let out an unearthly howl.

 

My name is Makoto Yuki. I'm seventeen, I'm a Capricorn, and I am a wizard.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Makoto's our resident Dresden for this fic. Don't worry about how Makoto can use an MP3 player if he's a wizard, that will be explained in the next chapter. Please, leave a review!


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